Which Ohio marijuana convictions could be expunged as part of the pending bill?

Columbus, Ohio (W.C.M.H.) — Efforts are currently underway behind the scenes in the Ohio State Legislature to pass new marijuana laws.

“Let's just let go of some of those old marijuana convictions,” said Rep. Bill Seitz (R-Cincinnati).

The bill has not been formally introduced. But Seitz said he and Rep. Ismail Mohamed (D-Columbus) and Rep. Dani Isaacsohn (D-Cincinnati) are working behind the scenes on legislation to revoke marijuana-related misdemeanor charges. revealed.

“This bill will be historic,” Mohamed said.

Mohammed said that in the city of Columbus alone, more than 3 percent of all residents have been charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession, and one in seven adult black males in the city have been charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession.

“It affects their employment opportunities,” he says. “It impacts not only housing, but obviously higher education as well.”

Back in December, state senators passed a bill. hefty marijuana bill It also included the following provisions: Record deletion.

This bill has not yet moved forward and likely never will. Their expungement provisions would create a “marijuana expungement fund” and create a process by which expungement applicants would be reimbursed for the cost of their application and legal assistance.Well, the state is new recreational cannabis laws Possession of up to a certain amount will be legalized and decriminalized. So representatives said they are working on a detailed bill that would automatically revoke fourth-degree misdemeanors and misdemeanors related to drug possession, cultivation and trafficking as long as the drugs are present. It's currently legal.

Seitz asked, “If smoking is legal everywhere now, why are we blaming people who smoked 20 years ago?”

“The law has changed over time And I think our moral values ​​and standard practices and expectations change over time,” Mohamed said.

Mohamed added that automatic removal is important because Ohio residents often don't know they can be removed or don't know how to proceed with the process.

“Many Ohioans, hundreds of thousands of people, are affected by this, and they don't understand that they can apply for this removal,” he said.

Some parts of the bill are still under negotiation. For example, Seitz said he is negotiating how many years back the state should be considered for automatic expungement.

“To minimize that burden, we are considering a loopback period starting in 2000,” Seitz said.

Mohamed said he is in talks with stakeholders to ensure the bill is viable and can cross the finish line. As of Friday, there was uncertainty as to when the state would be approved. first legal vendor Regulation of recreational marijuana — There is no timeline for when this bill will be introduced or if it will be amended into another bill.

https://fox8.com/news/which-ohio-marijuana-convictions-could-be-expunged-as-part-of-pending-bill/ Which Ohio marijuana convictions could be expunged as part of the pending bill?